Common names for this tree include itako in Nigeria, afina in Ghana, poé in Abé spoken in Côte d'Ivoire[3] and mba esogo in Equatorial Guinea.

The bark is greyish-black with small corky lenticels, developing greenish scales in older trees.

The leaves have short petioles and are alternate, oblong-elliptical, about 10 cm (4 in) long with asymmetric bases and acute apices; their texture is thick and papery, and they are somewhat pustular in appearance.

[5] Its typical habitat is well-drained soil in dense forest in high rainfall areas, often beside rivers or lakes, at altitudes of up to about 770 m (2,500 ft).

It is used in construction and for transmission poles, as well as for making tool handles, wood veneers, carving and heavy-duty flooring.